MS Dhoni working on fix for 'troublesome' bat swing and stance to revert to old free-hitting self

Courtesy: PTI

New Delhi: Former India skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni is not the same finisher he used to be. That is why the job of finishing matches for India has passed on to youngsters Kedar Jadhav and Hardik Pandya.

Last one year has been quite tricky for Dhoni as the runs haven't been coming easily anymore and his longevity in the sport is being debated over and over.

Now that Dhoni has handed over Team India's reigns to Virat Kohli, the Ranchi cricketer is suddenly sweating over his technique.

During IPL 10, when Dhoni's team Rising Pune Supergiant were preparing to play against Delhi Daredevils, he sat down with performance analyst Prasanna Agoram and had a candid conversation about his dipping form.

Prasanna, who has worked with a lot of high-class batsmen - from Hashim Amla to Jacques Kallis - recorded everything from Dhoni's stance to his bat-swing.

After analysing the practice sessions, it was concluded that there have been slight deviations in the wicketkeeper batsman's techniques.

As far as his stance is concerned, Dhoni prefers the mid-flexion, also known as boxer's stance, where the batsman's knees are slightly bent.

It was noticed that Dhoni's right or back knee is more bent than the left and as a result, the weight isn't balanced like it should be and the head is more titled rather than being upright. 

At his peak, Dhoni boasted of a perfect swing with the bat. Now a wobbly swing is making his bat come down from a wider angle and that affects the downswing massively. 

"I’ve been working on it for a while. I’m basically trying to work on getting myself more upright in my stance. I noticed that the head is bending over a little and is not in line with the front toe," Dhoni told The Indian Express about his IPL practice session.

If Dhoni makes these minute alterations in real match situations, he might be able to find runs with much ease.

Dhoni is a part of Team India participating in the ICC Champions Trophy in England.

The defending champions will take on Bangladesh in the second semi-final on Thursday.